The independent family-owned group Nexira has presented its results for the 2021/22 financial year, verifying its solid financial position. These results are largely driven by a strong diversification and development strategy based on natural ingredients and by key initiatives to preserve resources.
Over the 2021-2022 financial year, the Nexira Group has enjoyed remarkable growth, with a record turnover of €224.3 million aligned with its "Vision 2020" development plan, which was adopted by Stéphane and Mathieu Dondain in 2016. This consolidates Nexira's position as a major global and independent player in the market of natural plant-based ingredients and active agents for health, nutrition, and food.
Nexira posts a record turnover of €224.3 million
With the acquisition of UNIPEKTIN Ingredients AG, consolidated total sales increased by 66% and the overall turnover reached €224.3 million (up from €134 million in 2021). This record turnover was driven by strong organic growth, recent acquisitions, and strategic partnerships concluded in recent years for the provision of novel natural ingredients and patented active agents based on the acquisition of intellectual property.
Mathieu Dondain, Managing Director and Vice President of Nexira, stated: "In recent years our independent family-based group has proven its agility by demonstrating our ability to diversify and develop in new growth markets, by expanding our product offerings to include nutrition and health. The group has now reached the next level with a turnover of nearly €225 million and is strengthening its position as a world leader in natural plant-based ingredients. Our ambition is to reach a turnover of more than €400 million by 2030." Indeed, in a bid to boost its long-term growth over the past 15 years, the company has been seen to focus on diversification in order to position itself higher in new growth markets.
In 2008, the Nexira group embarked on its strategy for external growth when it acquired the laboratory Bio Serae, a manufacturer and supplier of natural nutraceutical ingredients used in products for slimming, joint comfort, antioxidants, and cardiovascular protection. In 2012, the group made a second acquisition with Tournay Biotechnologies, a European expert in the extraction of plant-based active ingredients targeted towards the nutrition and food supplement markets. Then in 2021, the group established a presence in Switzerland when it acquired UNIPEKTIN Ingredients AG, experts in locust bean gum (carob), tara, and guar gum processing. With this latest acquisition, Nexira consolidated its position on the market of natural plant-based ingredients – a dynamic market that is experiencing robust growth in the United States and worldwide, driven by strong consumer demand for plant-based alternatives to dairy products.
Alongside its acquisitions, in 2018 Nexira concluded a strategic partnership with California Natural Color, a subsidiary of wine giant E. & J. Gallo, for the provision of concentrated grape juice and colorings (red anthocyanins). With these natural ingredients, the company launched a high-quality sulfite-free Californian grape seed extract for antioxidant applications.
The group has also pursued an active strategy to acquire patents and intellectual property. In 2019, Nexira was granted rights to the PTC patent in France, the United States, and Japan by Zaluvida; following that, the group launched Okralin, a synergy of premium natural ingredients from plant-based sources, which has enjoyed huge commercial success in the global weight control market. In Europe, Okralin™ is sold as a medical device under an exclusive agreement with a pharmaceutical laboratory.
Consolidation of the health and food products portfolio and modernisation of production facilities
The group has launched two new innovative brands: naltive, a range of natural texturisers for numerous applications including dairy and a plant-based alternative to dairy products; and a new range of organic natural superfoods, POW(D)ER, which will be used in products such as nutritional bars, drinks, smoothies, and frozen desserts.
In the wake of multiple studies supervised by Nexira demonstrating the beneficial physiological effects of acacia fiber on human health, in December 2021 the US Food and Drug Administration authorised the classification of acacia as a "dietary fibre". This represents a major opportunity to boost the development of acacia fibre in the nutrition sector in the United States.
In France, the group has modernised its production facility, increasing its annual acacia gum production to nearly 35,000 metric tons at the Serqueux industrial site.
In partnership with the family-owned Indian company Synthite, Nexira inaugurated a new production line in 2019 at the Marudur site in India. The production has already reached close to 1,000 metric tons and will increase to meet the demands of the Indian and Southeast Asian markets. Nexira exports 91% of its production.
Olivier Houalla, Managing Director at Nexira, shares the group’s ongoing plans for 2023: "Our efforts in 2023 will focus on reorganising and restructuring our Nexira AG industrial subsidiary in Switzerland to reorient its future activity, especially with the development of the new naltive range. We are working on additional initiatives, such as the launch of our Phase 2 strategic industrial project in India. Additionally, we will be opening a new industrial site in the U.S. to better position our group to meet the demands of the North American market.”